Four dairy champions have been honoured for their leadership, commitment and dedication to the industry at the International Dairy Federation (IDF) World Dairy Summit 2017

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The much-coveted IDF awards were announced during the Gala dinner held at the Belfast Waterfront, which saw representatives from across the global dairy industry come together to celebrate a successful IDF World Dairy Summit. Winners include representatives from Norway, the US, New Zealand and Australia.

The Norwegian Dairy Council was the first winner of the evening, receiving the International Milk Promotion Group (IMP) Yves Boutonnat Trophy Award for their successful marketing campaign “One nutrient, hundred communication possibilities”. This followed a competitive application process, which saw a series of organisations present their respective marketing campaigns.

The second winner was internationally renowned nutrition expert Mary Anne Burkman from The Dairy Council of California who was awarded with The IDF Volunteer Recognition Award for her skill in translating scientific language into practical information. Mary Anne is recognised as a pioneer in bringing the nutrition and sustainability fields together and has played a key role in drafting essential resource papers for the IDF.

Keith Johnston, principal research technologist at Fonterra, was awarded with The IDF Prize of Excellence 2017 for his outstanding contribution to the work of the IDF. His expertise work within various IDF Standing Committees has resulted in the final adoption of a new and updated set of Codex cheese standards.

The IDF Award 2017 was awarded to Dr Robin Condron, former manager in animal health and welfare at Dairy Australia. For over 15 years Robin has been an active contributor to the IDF and has provided strategic advice to the industry in Australia and internationally in the technical areas of food safety, animal health and welfare.

Dr Judith Bryans, president of the IDF, said: “All of the evening’s winners are dairy champions who work tirelessly to promote our great industry all over the world.

“Working with members all over the world, the IDF aims to facilitate dialogue with stakeholders of the global dairy sector, and all of our award winners have helped the IDF do just that.

“Whether it’s being creative, offering high-level strategic and technical advice, or helping the IDF to communicate more effectively with the wider dairy industry, each of these winners has played a key role in ensuring the interests of the industry remain centre stage. Their commitment to the global industry is unwavering and is deeply appreciated.”

The International Dairy Federation

The International Dairy Federation (IDF) is the leading source of scientific and technical expertise for all stakeholders of the dairy chain. IDF engages all stakeholders in productive activities and research projects to further current knowledge and science on a wide range of issues. Today, dairy is one of the most vibrant and strategic sectors, with a major impact on national economies, public health and the environment. Through its working bodies, events and work programme, IDF provides a common platform, systems and processes for the global dairy sector to come together to reach consensus. Given its consensus-building capacity, IDF represents the global voice of dairy towards stakeholders and intergovernmental organisations. For more information, please visit www.fil-idf.org, or communications@fil-idf.org

IDF World Dairy Summit 2017

The IDF World Dairy Summit is the foremost international conference event for all dairy sector leaders and stakeholders. The conference, "Making a Difference with Dairy", is running from Monday 30th October to Thursday 2nd November at the Belfast Waterfront, an award-winning venue in the city centre. For more information on the individual conference programmes, technical tours and social events, please visit: http://www.idfwds2017.com